Water-motor



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. P. RATHBUN.

WATER MOTOR.

No. 536,654. Patented Apr. 2,1895.

WITNESSES: 3 37- nvvavron MM 9W. 8

%/ y K W ATTORNEYS.

. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B. P. RATHBUN.

WATER MOTOR. No. 536,654. Patented Apr. 2,18%.

INVENTOH A TTOHNEYS.

' v WITNESSES. M 2 47516154,

\ PEYERS co, PHOTCLUTHQ. wunwmm a c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. RATHBUN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WATER-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,654, dated April 2,1895.

Application filed r m 12,- 1894.

.is adapted toprovide a great deal of power in proportion to the speedof the current, and which has a very simple and easily actuatedmechanism for throwing it into and out of gear.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, formingapart ofthis specification,

in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts inall the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, of themachine'embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the motor. Fig.3is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and with the gates orabutments closed. Fig. 4 is a similar section, but with the gates orabutments thrown open to the current. Fig. 5 is a broken detaillongitudinal section through the central portion of the motor. Fig. 6 isa broken detail sectional view of the mechanism for locking andreleasing the gates, the crank arms of the locking device being shown inposition to hold the gates locked; and Fig. 7 is a similar section, butwith the crank arms in position to hold the gates open, one of the arms,however, being shown as moved to throw the motor out of gear.

My invention comprises a series of wheels 10 which preferably havebeveled edges to enable them to pass easily through the current of astream, and these wheels are secured to a common shaft 11 which isjournaled in a suitable frame 12. The shaft may be provided with anydesired number of these wheels, according to the width of the stream andthe amount of power which it is desired Serial No. 507,262. (No model.)

to utilize. The wheels are provided on their sides withoutwardly-swinging gates 13, which are adapted to close into recesses14: in the sides of the wheel when the motor is not in gear, and the endwheels have the gates on their inner sides only, so that they will notinterfere with the frame and other parts of the machine, while themiddle wheels have gates on both sides.

The gates on one side of a wheel are connected together by chains 15, sothat when one gate swings out to the current it will have atendency topull the next one open and thus they act on each other so as to enablethe motor to be thrown easily into gear. The wheels are pierced oppositethe gates by holes 17 and 18, this arrangement preventing excessivesuction and also permitting the current to enter and assist in turningthe wheel. The holes 17 on the end wheels have their outer sidespartially covered by deflectors 19, which serve to throw the currentthrough the holes so as to help force open the gates 13. When the gatesswing open their inner edges strike against the teeth of the ratchetwheels 20 which are secured to the shaft 11 and which thus serve asabutments to brace the gates. Arranged parallel with the shaft 11 andcircnmferentially around it are rods 21 which have arms 22 adapted toturn opposite the gates 13 and hold the gates closed, but the arms maybe also turned back of the gate hinges so as to permit the gates toswing outward at right angles to the wheels, as shown bestin Fig. 5. Inthis figure the gates are shown swung out at the top as they wouldappear in a tide or two way current, but in an ordinary stream the gateson the lower half of the motor would open while those on the upper halfwould close.

The rods 21 have at one end crank arms 23 which project radially outwardthrough the slots 25 and 26, of the concentric wheels 24 and 27, thelatter being arranged outside the former and having teeth thereon to engage a pinion, as described presently. These wheels 24 and 27 aremovable'in relation to each other, their movement being limited by a pin29 which is secured to the inner wheel and projects through a slot 28 inthe outer one, as shown in Fig. 2.

The teeth of the wheel 27 are adapted to engage apinion 3,0 which iscarried by a shaft3l, journaled in the frame 12, parallel with the mainshaft 1 l and slidably mounted in the said frame. The shaft 31 has acollar 32 at its outer end, see Fig. 2, and the shaft may be pulledendwise so that the pinion 30 may enter the recess 33, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 2, and be out of engagement with the wheel 27. Thepinion 30 may be held out of engagement with the wheel 27 by a latch 34which is pivoted on the frame 12 and is adapted to drop behind thecollar 32.

The rods 21 and arms 22 are held normally so as to lock the gates 13,but by pushing the pinion 30 into engagement with the wheel 27 and thenturning the collar 32 and pinion 30, the wheel 27 may be turned so thatit strikes the crank arms 23 and oscillates them and the arms 22, so asto move the latter from in front of the gates 13 and permit these gatesto swing into the current.

The machine is thrown outof gear by means of a pawl or arm 35, which isadapted to engage the arms 23 and which has its shank journaled in abearing 36 in the frame 12, while a handle 37 is secured to the outerend of the shank to enable the shank to be turned at will.

When the machine is revolving the arms 23 are of course revolved withthe shaft 11, and if the machine is to be stopped, the operator turnsthe handle 37 so as to bring the arm or pawl 35 into successiveengagement with the crank arms 23, as illustrated in Fig. 7, and thusthe rods 21 are turned so as to force the arms 22 against the gates soas to close and lock them.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent-- 1. A water motor comprising a shaft, a plurality ofwheels carried by the shaft and having recesses in their adjacent faces,a ratchet abutment on the shaft between each pair of wheels, a series ofoutwardly swinging gates hinged at one edge on lines radial to thewheels to fold into the respective recesses and the opposed gates on theadjacent faces of two wheels swinging open toward each other at theirfree edges and abutting at their inner ends against said ratchetabutments, and a series of rock shafts extending longitudinally of themain shaft and each having a series semen of arms 22 projectingoutwardly into engagement with the respective gates at their hingededges, whereby rocking anyvshaft all of the gates lying in the plane ofthat shaft will be moved away from their respective abutments and closedand locked in that position or by the opposite movement of said shaftwill be permitted to swing outwardly, substantially as described.

2. In a water motor, the wheel 10 having circularly arranged recesses 14in one face, openings 17 extending from said recesses through theopposite side of the wheel and there provided with deflectors 19 tothrow the water through said openings into the recesses to force thegates open, and a series of gates hinged in said recesses to swingoutwardly substantially as described.

3. In a water motor, the combination, with the shaft, the wheelsthereon, the swinging gates and the locking rods having arms to engagethe gates, of the concentric pulleys having slots therein, the crankarms secured to the rods and projecting through the pulley slots, and agear mechanism for turning the outer wheel and moving the crank arms,substantially as described.

4. In a water motor, the combination, with the shaft, the wheels, theswinging gates on the wheels, and the oscillating rods having arms toengage the gates, of the concentric slotted wheels on the shaft, thecrank arms secured to the rods and extending through the slots of thewheels, and the revoluble pinion held to move into and out of engagementwith the outer slotted wheel, substantially as described.

5. In a water motor, the combination with the shaft, the wheels thereon,the swinging gates on the wheels, and the oscillating looking rods onthe shaft provided with arms to engage the gates and having crank arms,con centric wheels having slots through which said arms project, of thetilting lever having an arm to engage the crank arms, and the gearmechanism for turning the outer concentric wheel, and moving the crankarms, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN F. RATHBUN.

Witnesses:

ELIZABETH L. RATHBUN, B. VAN BUREN.

